howorth



T. Enowomu.

PROCESS AND MACHINE FOR PREPARING FIBER FOR DYEING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 19. 1918.

1,322,695. Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

' I N VEN TOR.

' AT ORNEY.

T. E. HOWORTH.

PROCESS AND MACHINE FOR PREPARING FIBER FOR DYEING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 19. I918.

Patented N (W. 2 5, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR.

dyed, it takes the dye unevenly, and where lFfQ THOMAS E. nowon'ri-r, or NAsHnA, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

PROCESS AND MACHINE FOB PREPARING FIBER FDR DYEING.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, THOMAS E. HowoR'rH, a citizen of the United'States, residing'at Nashua, in the county of Hillsborough and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes and Machines for Preparing Fiber for Dyeing, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to processes and machines for preparing textile fibers; for dyeing in mass.

Where fibers, such as cotton and wool, are to be dyed before thefiber is spun into yarn, much better results are obtained if the fiber is first carded. Carded fiber is cleaner, it

.is spread out more evenly, and there are fewer bunches. Where uncarded fiber is it is afterward put through machines, such pickers and cards, the dye has made the fiber brittle and there is more waste, noils, etc. 1

As now handled, carded fiber for dyeing leaves the card in the form of sliver and is boxes are removed to a picker, through which the sliver is passed for the purpose of beating it out and breaking it up so that it will better take the dye. After passing through the picker, the broken up sliver is carried to the dye house.

The action of the boaters in the picker breaks thestaple and thus injures-it.

With my process and with my device at tached to each card, the sliver is drawn apart and separated without breaking the staple and can be dropped directly onto a conveyer apron or intov a pneumatic'carrier which delivers it directly to the dye room. I

With my attachment on his cards, acarder can operate many more cards than without it because there is no necessity for piecing broken ends of sliver.

The services of the man or men who carry the boxes filled with sliver to the picker,'the services 'of'the man or'men on the pickers, and the services of the man 'or men who carry material from thepicker to the dye house are dispensed with. 7

My process and machine can be used in connection with a single card, but is more useful where a number of cards are operat ing together, preferably in line.-

Specifieation of Letters Patent. Patented N 25, 1919, Application-filed July 19, 1918. Serial No. 245,751. r

In the drawings,'Figure 1 is a plan View of the delivery end of acard with my device attached. Fig) 2 is an elevation from the front of my attachment, on a somewhat larger scale than Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an'elevation from the left of Fig. 2, the gearsbeing broken away and outlined. Fig. 4 is a section from the left on line- 44 of Fig. 9 Fig. 5 1s a dlagram, shown in elevation frornthe front, of a plurality of cards which deliver into a common conveyer. Fig. 6 is an elevation from the left, similar to Fig. 3, of a modlfication of the drive mechanism witha different location of the rolls. Fig.

1 7 is aside elevation showing a pair of fluted separating rolls instead of plain rolls. 7

A'represents the frame of a cotton card of any well known type. 13 represents the main cylinder, C, the doffer, D the dofier comb, F the trumpet guide, and G the sliver.

The card shown is supposed to beef the revolving fiat cardtype and has the usual smooth calender delivery rolls H and K carried by shafts 11 and 14', which are supported. by any suitable parts of the frame, such asboxes or brackets and' 16, all in a well known manner. Roll K is driven from the train of gears 10 by shaft 11 and positively drives rollH through the mediumof gears 12 and'-.13, carried respectively by shaft 11 and counter-shaft 14 which carries gear 13 and roll H.- The parts described in this paragraph are all old.

' Preferably, to supports l5 and 16,liattach the brackets and 21 as byscrews 17.

These brackets, as shown in Figs. 1 to 5, ex-

tend upward and outward at an angle. of about forty-five degrees. Each bracket has a longitudinalslot, such as shown at 22 in Fig. 4, and at the lower end of this slot rests a bearing 24 for a .counter-shaft 25 which carries what I will call my lower separating roll 0.

Slidable in "channel22 is also a bearing foranother counter-shaft 31 which carries the upper separating roll P. I may use a stud 32 on bearing 30 and a stud 33 on a top plate 34, with a spring 35 between them to permit the upperseparating roll .1 to give in case a bunch passes through. Separating rolls 0 and P are driven by a suitable chain .of gears from shaft 11. .As shown, gear is carried by shaft 11 and engages a pinion 41 rev'oluble with shaft .42 which earries'gear 43, as shown in Fig. 3.

rating roll P.-

7 Gear l3 engages pinion i4: carried by' shaft 25 which carrles lower separating roll 0, and also gear 45 which engages a gear 46 carried by shaft 31, which also carr es sepa- As a result of this arrangement,

I .ing rolls and P are positively driven at a "certain surface speed relative to the surface speed of delivery rolls and K 'dependent' upon the arrangement of thetrain of gears and the size of the g gears.w

As shown, this gives a relativespeed i which determines the draft on thesliver G which passes through the delivery rolls H and: K and through the separating rolls 0 r and P. of about 7.

Itis very desirable, if not necessary, that lower delivery roll K and separating roll O in dyeing;

should come very close together, and I find.

itconvenient to make separating rolls 0 and P relativelylarge and smooth, the pun poseof my devlce 1s to create suflicient draft on the sliver so thatit will be drawn out .u'ntil it .is drawn apart andseparated into flakes which are suitable for immediate use With this arrangement" of rolls, it is im-e material Whether or not the ends break bee tween the delivery rolls H'-K and separatstaple cotton stock.

ing rolls O'P, as any broken piece will be picked up bythe roll 0 and-carried along through, being deliveredat M in flakes.

In fact, by my process,- thesliver is continuously drawn out and repeatedly separated, the sliver but not the fiberbeing' broken. The sliver is drawn out longitudiinto flakes but-the While my 'device and process are suitable =-for Ia singleeard, I find it especially useful "where a plurality of cards, each having clelivery' rolls andseparating rolls, are arranged, preferably, in line, as shown inFig. 5. The cards '50, 51', .52, each have separating rolls O+Pandeach also hasa spout or tube, suchas 54:, into which the stock, after being separated into flakes, is delivered.

These'spouts all deliver to a common conveyer which is shown in Fig. -5 'as tube 55 which runs underneath'the floor 56, 'A suction bl0werv57ereates an airtcurr'ent which delivers the flaky stock into the dyeroom for any other suitable i'delivery point '58.

This onveyepmay'bepneumatic; as "shown, an endless apron, or any other similar device of well known character.

WVhile I prefer to arrange my separatingrolls at an angle of forty-five degrees, I'may,

as shown in '6 'ar'langethe separating ep r te.

'meansofgears 63 and 64.

rolls R and S in front of, below, and at rlght angles to the delivery rolls, such as H and K, and I may drive them by means of suitable s rockets "65, 66 61 connected by chains 62, 67 J 1 Ishow-roll S as positively driven at the-same speed with roll R by IVith this arrangement of rolls,' broken ends. cause no difficulty, becausethe rolls R and S are continuously turning in the direction of the arrows and-actuallypick up the ends as fast as they are pulled apart, such 'pulling apart "being the purpose of the machine. 7 V

The rolls are-shown as smaller than 0- 1 and my device will work properly withsuch smaller smooth l'O llSz shown in Fig. in place of smooth rolls Igmaiy use fluted rolls, such as T V, if desiredfbutl find-that less power is required with smooth rolls and thereforeprefer them,

Similar fluted rolls I show in application for patent on draw ng attachment for cards pending herewith, and I may use myiprocess 'onilthe machine there shown, The principal feature of myprocess, as described herein. 1s thecontinuous drawing out of a carded and condensed "sliver until it separates into jflakes.

This maybe accomplished by'the mecha- 1118K); shown or by any other mechamsm which willsput sufficient draft on the sliver and which will pick up the continuously formed broken ends as fast as they are formed- I v e,

Ipprefer to arrange the-axes ofthc-sepa-1 ratingrollsin a plane which is at an angle -of forty-five degrees with a planethrough the axes cfthe' delivery rolls, but this angle may be'more or less. I prefer, to arrange the separating :rollsin front of, that is on a line running from the fron'tto the back of the card and either about on a level with or below the delivery rolls but other artrangement of p'arts might be; made; w .The drlve 'm'echanlsm for theseparating rolls is preferably i'capableof' adjustment as i I by changing gearsor chains andsprockets,

and should "be adjusted so that these rolls will revolve 'ati-so ,muchgrieater speed than the delivery rolls that the sliver will be drawn out longitudinally ,until it separates int'ofiakes; i v 1 'I claim: r I

'1. The process of preparing fiber for dyei'n'g which consists of passing it :through a carding machine, condensing it into a sliver,

and of drawing-out the sliver without biea iing'the staple'until it separates. g V v 2. -'lhe' =process 'o'f preparing fiber for dyeing which Consists "of breaking up a ho 'moge'neous sliver into separate "el'en'ients by drawing it apart"longitudinally.

3. The processof preparing fiber for dyeing which consists 'O'f"eonltlliuously-ieaarding,

condensing and drawing it apart longitudinally until it is repeatedly separated into flakes.

4. The process of treating sliver which consists of drawing it out continuously to such a point that it separates into flakes.

The combination of a card having sliver delivery. rolls, with smooth relatively large separating rolls located in front of the delivery rolls, the lower delivery and separating rolls being close together, and the upper delivery andseparating rolls being relatively farther apart, and mechanism positively revolving the separating rolls at a greater surface speed than the delivery rolls.

6. The combination of a card having sliver delivery rolls, with separating rolls located in front of the delivery rolls, the lower de livery and separating rolls being close together, and mechanism for revolving the separating rolls at so much greater speed than the delivery rolls that the sliver is drawn out and separated.

8. The combination of a plurality of cards each having delivery rolls and separating rolls so arranged with reference thereto and .gether, andmechanism for revolving the separating rolls at a greater speed than the delivery rolls.

10. The process of preparing fiber for dyeing which consists of continuously formingit into a sliver and of drawing the sliver apart longitudinally until'it separates into flakes.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature.

THOMAS E. HOlVOR-TH. 

